HAIRDRESSING
As we proceeded nearer the coast, we found by the style of hairdressing among the women that we had come into the territory of a different tribe to that amongst whom we had been travelling. Many of the young women had a singular but somewhat elegant style of coiffure. It was done thus: the hair was plaited in very fine braids, and then twisted into thin flat circular coils of from two to two and a half inches in diameter; these were symmetrically arranged, one overlapping the other, in two rows, the upper one completely encircling the head from the forehead to the back of the neck, and the other ending below the ears. These young girls really looked well, for they had the appearance of being well dressed. The women here were more fully clothed than those of the Tanàla; the skirt of fine mat is worn here, but there is more of it, and hemp cloth seems in more common use.
The country became flatter, undulating, but with no prominent rising grounds. The vegetation also was quite different from what we had become accustomed to during the last four days. There were no more bamboos, hardly any traveller’s trees, but large numbers of single trees or small clumps of them. These were chiefly the adàbo, a species of Ficus, a tree with massive smooth trunk and light brown bark; they have a much more rounded and shapely outline than the forest trees, and give the scenery quite an English appearance. But the presence of an occasional fan-palm or cocoanut-palm lifting their tall plumes aloft soon dispelled the illusion. The villages, too, became numerous, and many of them are built five or six together—that is, in lines of as many, only a short distance between them.
A Forest River
Immense arums (vìha) are in the foreground, and reflections of Travellers’ trees are seen in the water
We had a curious congregation on the Sunday at one of the two villages where we spoke to the people, of whom a good many collected together. But as heavy showers came on, most of our auditors were standing under the elevated rice-houses (tràno àmbo), as we also were. Still we were able to speak a few earnest words to them. Almost in the midst of our speaking, the old chief of the village came up to give us—a bottle of rum! and a fowl. The former of these presents, as well as others of the same kind, were, as soon as darkness set in, carried outside, and poured on the ground as the best way of disposing of their contents. We were glad to find that the Taimòro, among whom we had now come, did not, like the Tanàla, kill children born on unlucky days, but by some ceremonies and offerings avert the evils supposed to be connected with them.
GREAT ARUMS
A week’s journey from Ivòhitròsa brought us to a Hova military post again—viz. to the town of Ambòhipèno, which is only a few miles from the mouth of the Màtitànana river, and is the central one of a line of three villages. Here we had a hospitable reception from the governor and his officers, as well as from the congregation and its pastor. Although the sea was still some miles distant, we could distinctly hear the roar of the surf some time before reaching Ambòhipèno. On a voyage to the seaside, which we made the day after our arrival, we had a fine large canoe which had more sharply pointed stem and stern than in those seen in Imèrina. We were struck by the great arums (vìha) growing in thick masses along the banks in the water. These were from twelve to fifteen feet high, with thick fleshy stems and leaf-stalks, lily-like leaves, between two and three feet long, and magnificent white flowers, with a scarlet pistil. The fruit is occasionally used by the natives as an article of food. We picked up some good shells (Turritellæ, Cypræa, etc.) on the seashore, as well as corals, seaweed and sponges. Like almost every river on the east coast, the mouth is closed by a sand bar, until the rains of the wet season fill the river so full that the bar is broken for a few weeks, and then the south-east winds and currents close it up again.
The greater part of two days were spent at Ambòhipèno in services and school examinations, which latter were especially interesting and satisfactory. We were amused by the decoration of the pulpit in the native church, which was rather extraordinary. It was a high box-like affair, part of the front being occupied by a picture of a European ship, the other part by a church with a tall tower and spire; while over these was a text (in Malagasy), “Says the owner of this house, Fear”; although it would be difficult to find the passage in this exact form. These objects, together with birds perched on trees, made a curious mixture of subjects for pulpit decoration.
BUTTERFLIES